SLC Ropes in Sports Psychologist!

Sri Lanka have enlisted the help of sports psychologist and former England offspinner Jeremy Snape for their upcoming home series against England. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) made the decision with a view to having a performance coach on board for ther 2015 World Cup campaign.

The board is also understood to be in talks with former India fielding coach Trevor Penney about a full-time position with the Sri Lanka side.

“We’ve confirmed that Jeremy Snape will be coming on an assignment basis, for the England tour,” SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said. “The decision on whether we will have a psychologist for the World Cup has not been made yet.”

Sri Lanka’s record at recent World Cups had been a catalyst for the decision to sign a sports psychologist, with a pattern of failure at high-pressure matches having developed over the past seven years. Sri Lanka lost four major finals between 2007 and 2012, and though the team has since won the 2014 Word T20, the board is looking closely at enlisting a sports psychologist to buttress the 2015 World Cup effort.

An offspinning-allrounder in his playing career, Snape played 10 ODIs and a T20I for England, in addition to 121 first-class matches. He has a masters degree in sports psychology, and has worked with England, South Africa, as well as teams in the IPL and Big Bash League.

Penney, meanwhile, is understood to be in the final stages of negotiations for the vacant fielding coach position. He had been highly rated in Sri Lanka following his tenure as the national team’s assistant coach under Tom Moody – a stint which ended in 2007. Penney was India’s fielding coach from 2011 to 2014, and had also worked with Kolkata Knight Riders during that time.